FireGrill, Montreal

FireGrill (1490 Stanley, Montreal; dinner there on Sunday febr 2nd 2014, 19:30) is a chain of steakhouse that has been around for a while, but it’s just on this evening that I got a chance to try it.

I ordered the 18oz rib eye steak $33.50 (montreal cut), which came cooked at exact requested doneness (as it’s the case for most, medium rare is my preference), the grill marks achieved beautifully. I can’t fault the quality of the meat: what I was having on this evening was without a doubt of good quality (Sterling Silver Premium Beef See here: http://www.sterlingsilvermeats.com/PremiumBeef.asp ) and they barely season it so that you fully appreciate the beef flavor. All of that is highly appreciated, but I did not find it as beefily exciting in mouth as some dry-aged corn fed cuts of Black Angus or USDA prime beef I had elsewhere. Scoring that steak would have no meaning here since this is truly a matter of personal preference (think of colors: is blue better than yellow? Lol )

The lobster tail ($13) was sizeable when compared to its equivalent versions in town, its texture appealing as it was properly broiled, but sadly no lobster flavor came through. 3/10

Mushrooms sautéed ($7.50) as it should, but here limited by the average quality of mushroom we mostly find in Mtl, though, for the price, you obviously can’t expect miracles neither from standard all-season mushrooms. 5/10

There was plenty of food and the portions are not meager: I literally had a plate of mushrooms (as opposed to just couple of mushrooms accompanying the steaks), a plate of salad (plenty of salad), etc.

All in all, this was a 5/10 overall food performance for me, but they have plenty of other food items, so I am confident your experience can be better. Regardless of my low score for the meal I was having on this evening, I could sense a desire to do well, here, as the service was very attentive on this evening (the service here is better than at some other steakhouse chains I know), and they seemed genuinely interested in customizing the dining experience.